The Middle Eastern Food Family

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Daniel Dubbaneh, co-founder of Z&Z, located in Rockville, MD, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We specialize in the manoushe, an iconic flatbread that's extremely popular in the Levant and found in nearly every corner bakery. Our customers are diverse people from the Middle East, people who have traveled to the Middle East, or just people who love delicious food and the story behind our family business.

Tell us about yourself

We grew up working in my dad's restaurant and fell in love with hospitality. Their entire lives, our parents stressed how hard it was to run a restaurant and told us to stay far away, study hard, and get a good comfortable job. However, as we grew up, we found ourselves with an entrepreneurial itch and a craving to share our culture with others in a fun way. That way was our favorite childhood food - the manoushe. We would wake up on the weekends to the smell of our grandma baking fresh manoushe for us before we'd all gather around a table full of dips, fresh veggies, and pickled goods to enjoy breakfast together. Capturing that magical experience and sharing it with our community, whether through food or through our media, is what motivates us each day. We know just how special these memories and these feelings are to people.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

We've been fortunate enough to have a lot of big accomplishments, most of them in this past year alone. We were named one of Bon Appetit's 50 Best New Restaurants of 2022. Our spices are carried in the entire Mid-Atlantic Region of Whole Foods. And last but not least, the ready-to-heat version of our manoushe is on the shelves in select Whole Foods and MOM's Organic stores up and down the east coast. But more than all of this is the reception and engagement we get from our community. Knowing the impact, it's making for so many people like us is what makes it all worth it.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things that come with being a business owner is that no matter how confident you are, it can be hard to be sure that you're making the right decisions or going in the right direction. The road to growing a business is long and full of lots of ups and downs. Some days you're on top of the world, and other days you think this was the worst idea ever. You have to just stick to the course and know that it's all part of the wonderful journey of growing your own business.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Number 1 is to make sure you're fostering a community in a very sincere way. The support of our community has meant the world to us, and we wouldn't be where we are without them. The second tip would be to do market research and plan as many details as you can to make sure you have a sustainable business model. Don't just count on it all 'working out' or 'figuring it out as you go.' Now I'm going to immediately contradict that tip, but the next tip is to just get started and keep learning, iterating, and improving a little every day. You learn so much more by doing, and you can't get stuck in the planning phase forever. Be patient, believe in yourself, and do what makes you happy.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.zandzdc.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zandzdc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zandzdc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/zandzdc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zandz/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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